Development of a Comprehensive Parenting Program with a Rational Approach

Objective: The aim of the present study was to develop a comprehensive parenting program with a rational approach. Methods and Materials: The research method was qualitative, and the participants in the model design phase included academic experts (faculty members in the fields of general psychology, educational psychology, clinical psychology, and philosophy of education in higher education institutions), organizational experts (senior managers and consultants of family counseling centers and clinics), and specialists in parenting styles. In the validation phase, the participants included faculty members in related fields and senior consultants from family counseling centers and clinics nationwide. In the qualitative phase, using the snowball sampling method, 18 experts were selected, while in the validation phase, 16 experts were chosen through purposive sampling. The data collection tools consisted of semi-structured interviews in the qualitative phase and an expert evaluation checklist in the validation phase. For data analysis, thematic analysis was employed in the qualitative phase, utilizing initial, axial, and secondary coding through Atlas software. In the validation phase, the Delphi method was applied in three rounds using SPSS software. To ensure validity and reliability in the qualitative phase, necessary assessments were conducted, including acceptability (expert review) and confirmability (expert re-examination). In the validation phase, the content of the expert evaluation checklist was reviewed by several academic and organizational experts to ensure clarity and comprehensibility, and its reliability was confirmed through the test-retest method, yielding a coefficient of 0.88. Findings: According to the findings of the qualitative phase, the final model consisted of six main themes: (1) parental education and awareness, (2) development of communication skills, (3) enhancement of critical thinking and problem-solving, (4) emotional support and psychological security, (5) establishment of logical boundaries and rules, and (6) encouragement of autonomy and independence. The model further included 24 sub-themes and 112 criteria. The validation results confirmed the main and sub-themes identified in the qualitative phase. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that rational parenting, emphasizing parental awareness, communication skills, critical thinking, emotional support, logical rules, and independence, contributes to the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children.